Strain localization and fabric evolution in sand

Strain localization is frequently observed in sand and is considered an important precursor related to major geohazards such as landslides, debris flow and failure of relevant geo-structures. This paper presents a numerical study on strain localization in sand, with a special emphasis on the influence of soil fabric and its evolution on the initiation and development of shear band. In particular, a critical state sand plasticity model accounting for the effect of fabric and its evolution is used in the finite element analysis of plane strain compression tests. It is found that the initiation of shear band is controlled by the initial fabric, while the development of shear band is governed by two competing physical mechanisms, namely, the structural constraint and the evolution of fabric. The evolution of fabric generally makes the sand response more coaxial with the applied load, while the structural constraint induced by the sample ends leads to more inhomogeneous deformation within the sand sample when the initial fabric is non-coaxial with the applied stress. In the case of smooth boundary condition, structural constraint dominates over the fabric evolution and leads to the formation of a single shear band. When the boundary condition is rough, the structural constraint may play a comparable role with fabric evolution, which leads to symmetric cross-shape shear bands. If the fabric is prohibited from evolving in the latter case, a cross-shape shear band pattern is found with the one initiated first by the structural constraint dominating over the second one. In all cases, significantly larger dilation and fabric evolution are observed inside the shear band than outside. The simulated shear band orientation coincides with the Roscoe’s angle for cases with high confining pressure and lies in between the Roscoe’s angle and Arthur’s angle for the low confining pressure cases.     

钙质砂的SHPB实验技术及其动态力学性能

开展了11组南海钙质砂和福建石英砂的分离式霍普金森压杆（SHPB）实验,试样相对密实度为90%,厚度分别为10、30和50 mm,得到了冲击荷载下钙质砂和石英砂的应变率时程曲线、应变时程曲线和应力应变关系。实验结果表明:通过严格装样技术可以减小实验设备产生的误差,改变试样厚度、子弹长度、整形器等是实现钙质砂应力平衡和恒应变率的主要手段。在相同的密实度和加载条件下,钙质砂的体积模量和剪切模量约为石英砂的10%,压缩强度和抗剪强度约为石英砂的30%。冲击荷载作用下钙质砂的动态力学性能与石英砂存在较大的差异,因此不能将已有石英砂的研究结果直接用于钙质砂。     

毛乌素沙漠风积砂力学特性室内试验研究

在对毛乌素沙漠风积砂物理特性进行试验研究的基础上,通过室内击试验、压缩试验及三轴剪切试验,对毛乌素沙漠风积砂的力学特性进行了初步研究。结果表明:毛乌素沙漠风积砂击实特性与粉、黏性土有较大的差异,在干燥和最佳含水率状态下易于击实,击实曲线呈双峰形态; 压缩试验表明毛乌素沙漠风积砂一般属于低压缩性土,其压缩特性与试样初始密度、含水率、荷载级别及加载条件有关; 三轴剪切试验表明毛乌素沙漠风积砂抗剪强度指标受试样密度的影响较大,虽然含水率对抗剪强度指标有一定影响且具有一定规律性,但影响程度并不明显。本文相关成果为解决该区风积砂相关岩土工程问题和工程地质问题提供了可靠的试验依据。     

MODEL TEST AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF BEARING CAPACITY OF ARTIFICIAL FROZEN CLAY1)

在天然冻土地区进行工程建设需研究冻土地基承载力。在人工冻结黏土蠕变试验的基础上建立广义开尔文模型,通过改造人工冻土大型冻结试验平台,进行人工冻结黏土地基承载力试验,发现载荷-沉降曲线可以分为3个阶段,基础呈局部剪切破坏。在ANSYS中将考虑相变的温度场转化为温度载荷施加在三维实体模型上,并将广义开尔文模型应用于软件中,采用增量加载方式分级加载。对比数值模拟与模型试验结果,发现地基载荷-沉降曲线规律一致,极限承载力大小基本相等,基础破坏模式相同。结果表明ANSYS软件可以分析复杂边界、初始条件下冻土材料的性质, 且能得到不同载荷下冻土材料的应力、位移、塑性区发展状况。     

挡土墙填土边坡水文响应过程分析——以赖屋山挡土墙填土边坡为例

深圳赖屋山的一挡墙表面出现数条裂缝,为了深入研究其变形破坏机制,在挡墙背后填土区布置自动监测仪器,主要包括渗压计、张力计与水分计及固定式测斜仪。通过对渗压计、张力计和水分计的监测数据分析表明：填土内地下水位埋深大,降雨对其影响小; 土体中孔隙压力和体积含水量对强降雨响应随着埋深存在不同程度的滞后性,强降雨入渗深度大于3m,并且在3m处形成瞬态饱和地下水,抗剪强度降低,易于引起边坡的浅层变形破坏。
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香港全风化花岗岩饱和直剪试验中的剪胀问题

通过对全风化花岗岩的慢剪试验,指出了在直剪试验中出现的两种垂直位移变化形式,其对土体的剪胀剪缩性质的 反映与三轴试验是一致的。剪胀的发生与土体的密实程度密切相关;随垂直压力的增大,剪胀发生所需剪应力也增大;剪应 力达到峰值所需要剪位移总是比剪胀发生时所需的剪位移大。     

双轴载荷作用下源于椭圆孔的分支裂纹的一种边界元分析

利用一种边界元方法来研究双轴载荷作用下无限大板中源于椭圆孔的分支裂纹．该边界元方法由Crouch与Starfied建立的常位移不连续单元和笔者提出的裂尖位移不连续单元构成．在该边界元方法的实施过程中,左、右裂尖位移不连续单元分别置于裂纹的左、右裂尖处,而常位移不连续单元则分布于除了裂尖位移不连续单元占据的位置之外的整个裂纹面及其它边界,文中算例说明本数值方法对计算平面弹性裂纹的应力强度因子是非常有效的。该文对双轴载荷作用下无限大板中源于椭圆孔的分支裂纹的数值结果进一步证实本数值方法对计算复杂裂纹的应力强度因子的有效性,同时该数值结果可以揭示双轴载荷及裂纹体几何对应力强度因子的影响。     

A boundary element modeling of fatigue crack growth in a plane elastic plate

This paper presents an extension of a boundary element method to fatigue growth analysis of mixed-mode cracked plane elastic bodies. The method consists of the non-singular displacement discontinuity element presented by Crouch and Starfield and the crack-tip displacement discontinuity element due to the author. In the boundary element implementation the left or the right crack-tip element is placed locally at the corresponding left or right crack tip on top of non-singular displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and the other boundaries. Crack growth is simulated with an incremental crack extension analysis based on the modified maximum strain energy density criterion. In numerical simulation, for each increment of crack extension, remeshing of existing boundaries is not required because of an intrinsic feature of the boundary element method. Crack growth is simulated by adding new boundary elements on the incremental crack extension to the previous crack boundaries. At the same time, the element characters of some related elements are adjusted according to the manner in which the boundary element method is implemented. Some numerical results of fatigue growth in a plane elastic plate with a center-inclined crack under uniaxial cyclic loading are given.     

Critical state shear behavior of the soil-structure interface determined by discrete element modeling

The interface between soil and structure can be referred to as a soil-structure system, and its behavior plays an important role in many geotechnical engineering practices. In this study, results are presented from a series of monotonic direct shear tests performed on a sand-structure interface under constant normal stiffness using the discrete element method (DEM). Strain localization and dilatancy behavior of the interface is carefully examined at both macroscopic and microscopic scales. The effects of soil initial relative density and normal stress on the interface shear behavior are also investigated. The results show that a shear band progressively develops along the structural surface as shear displacement increases. At large shear displacement a unique relationship between stress ratio and void ratio is reached in the shear band for a certain normal stress, indicating that a critical state exists in the shear band. It is also found that the thickness and void ratio of the shear band at the critical state decreases with increasing normal stress. Comparison of the DEM simulation results with experimental results provides insight into the shear behavior of a sand-structure interface and offers a means for quantitative modeling of such interfaces based on the critical state soil mechanics.     

A numerical analysis of perpendicular cracks under general in-plane loading with a hybrid displacement discontinuity method

In this paper, a numerical analysis of perpendicular cracks under general in-plane loading is performed by using a hybrid displacement discontinuity method which consists of the non-singular displacement discontinuity element presented by Crouch and Starfied and the crack tip displacement discontinuity elements by the author. In the boundary element implementation the left or the right crack tip displacement discontinuity element is placed locally at corresponding left or right crack tip on top of the ordinary non-singular displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and the other boundary. The present numerical results show that the numerical approach is simple, yet very accurate for calculating numerically stress intensity factors for perpendicular cracks under general in-plane loading.     

A Novel “Subset Splitting” Procedure for Digital Image Correlation on Discontinuous Displacement Fields

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is an easy to use yet powerful approach to measure displacement and strain fields. While the method is robust and accurate for a variety of applications, standard DIC returns large error and poor correlation quality near displacement discontinuities such as cracks or shear bands. This occurs because the subsets used for correlation can only capture continuous deformations from the reference to the deformed image. As a result the regions around discontinuities are typically removed from the area of interest, before or after analysis. Here, a novel approach is proposed which enables the subset to split in two sections when a discontinuity is detected. This method enables the measurement of “displacement jumps”, and also of displacements and strains right by the discontinuity (for example a crack profile or residual strains in the wake). The method is validated on digitally created images based on mode I and mode II asymptotic displacement fields, for both sub-pixel and super-pixel crack opening displacements. Finally, an actual fracture experiment on a high density polyethylene (HDPE) specimen demonstrates the robustness of the method on actual images. Compared to other methods capable of handling discontinuities, this novel “subset-splitting” procedure offers the advantage of being a direct extension of the now popular standard DIC, and can therefore be implemented as an “upgrade” to that method.     

天然盐渍土冻融循环时水盐迁移规律及强度变化试验研究

通过对新疆喀什地区12处天然盐渍土室内基本性质试验分析,选取典型天然盐渍土,在开放系统中进行反复冻融循环条件下的试验研究。研究了天然盐渍土在多次冻融循环时的水分和盐分迁移规律及强度变化特征。试验结果表明:经多次冻融循环,低液限粘土试样水分重分布与盐分重分布有很大的一致性,水分和盐分自下而上迁移;试样粘聚力自下而上线形减小,内摩擦角呈s形分布。含砂低液限粘土试样冻融循环过程中,易溶盐均随水分向冷端面迁移,离子剖面呈现中间大两端小的趋势;试样粘聚力呈反s形分布,内摩擦角均呈s形分布。     

Soil failure under undrained quasi-static and high speed triaxial compression test

Experiments were conducted in unsaturated silty loam and sandy loam soils under undrained conditions. Soil failure under quasi-static and high speed triaxial compression were studied. The amount of energy used in breaking soil specimens was found to be a function of soil moisture content. During undrained quasi-static triaxial compression tests, two cases of brittle failure, a general shear failure and a fragmentation were observed. The test soil specimen broke more by fragmentation than by general shear failure. During undrained high speed triaxial compression tests, the energy use for breaking the soil specimen increased with increase in loading speed up to a certain critical speed range of 4.5–5 m/s, and then it decreased. Two types of soil failure, brittle failure and plastic flow, which were a function of the loading speed, were noticed. At lower speed, dilation of shearing along a slip plane was observed. However, at higher speed, barreling of the cylindrical specimen with top and bottom conical shaped wedges, or only a single wedge with a small crack or fluidization, was observed.     

Analytical test functions for free vibration analysis of rotating non-homogeneous Timoshenko beams

In this paper, the governing equations for free vibration of a non-homogeneous rotating Timoshenko beam, having uniform cross-section, is studied using an inverse problem approach, for both cantilever and pinned-free boundary conditions. The bending displacement and the rotation due to bending are assumed to be simple polynomials which satisfy all four boundary conditions. It is found that for certain polynomial variations of the material mass density, elastic modulus and shear modulus, along the length of the beam, the assumed polynomials serve as simple closed form solutions to the coupled second order governing differential equations with variable coefficients. It is found that there are an infinite number of analytical polynomial functions possible for material mass density, shear modulus and elastic modulus distributions, which share the same frequency and mode shape for a particular mode. The derived results are intended to serve as benchmark solutions for testing approximate or numerical methods used for the vibration analysis of rotating non-homogeneous Timoshenko beams.     

内部压力作用下矩形板中源于椭圆孔的分支裂纹应力强度因子的一种数值分析

应用一种边界元方法来研究内部压力作用下矩形板中源于椭圆孔的分支裂纹。该边界元方法由Crouch与Starfied建立的常位移不连续单元和笔者最近提出的裂尖位移不连续单元构成。在该边界元方法的实施过程中,左、右裂尖位移不连续单元分别置于裂纹的左、右裂尖处,而常位移不连续单元则分布于除了裂尖位移不连续单元占据的位置之外的整个裂纹面及其它边界。本数值结果进一步证实这种数值方法对计算有限大板中复杂裂纹的应力强度因子的有效性,同时该数值结果可以揭示裂纹体几何对应力强度因子的影响。     

聚丙烯纤维加筋绍兴非饱和黏土的剪切特性研究

为了研究纤维加筋非饱和土的剪切特性,以绍兴地区广泛分布的非饱和黏土为研究对象,聚丙烯纤维为加筋材料,通过一系列非饱和直剪试验,探讨了纤维长度对加筋土剪切变形特性、抗剪强度及其指标的影响规律,并简要分析了聚丙烯纤维的增强机理,最后得出了0.2%掺量下补强效果最佳的纤维长度．研究结果表明：随着净法向应力的增大,土体的剪应力-剪切位移曲线由软化型逐渐向硬化型转化,纤维长度L为12 mm的加筋土样表现出的剪切硬化特性最明显;不同净法向应力下,纤维加筋非饱和土的抗剪强度均高于素土;随着纤维长度的增加,纤维加筋土的黏聚力呈先增加后减小,内摩擦角先增加后趋于平缓;当纤维长度L为12 mm时,聚丙烯纤维对土体抗剪强度指标的补强效果能够最大程度得到发挥．     

Re-examined principles of thrust generation by a track on soft ground

Dr. Bekker’s first book Theory of land locomotion offers in fact two different concepts of thrust generation on soft ground with respect to the slip: (a) as the push of grousers causing horizontal soil “distortion” and (b) as the shear force in the failure plane linked with the shear deformation. Bekker preferred the second concept and backed it up by the unique shear-ring measuring technique. To clear up the matter, the author decided to re-examine the thrust generation by a track plate experimentally in field conditions. The tests have shown that the initial stage of thrust generation in compressible ground is always horizontal soil compression by grousers, which divides the soil under a track into separate blocks initially at rest. This compression increases at least to the transition point, when a block is sheared off simultaneously at the bottom and in both lateral planes and starts sliding along the channel formed by the preceding grouser. The analysis of these measurements enabled to define the compressive displacement of the face of the soil block (travel of the grouser) appurtenant to the mentioned transition point, useful to define the thrust–slip curve. The case may also be described by the conventional shear stress–shear displacement relationship, imagined to take place in the bottom failure plane, however, namely the “shear displacement” is rather an unusual quantity.     

Grain-scale processes governing shear band initiation and evolution in sands

A variety of experimental techniques have been used to advance understanding of strain localization phenomena in sands. However, all of these methods have fallen short in characterizing the evolution of the grain-scale processes that necessarily control shear band formation and growth in sands. This paper presents results of application of the non-destructive displacement measurement technique of digital image correlation (DIC) to measure two- and three-dimensional surface displacements on plane strain and axisymmetric sand specimens over short time steps. The abundance of local displacement data, high level of accuracy, and nearly continuous (spatially and temporally) record of displacement evolution afforded by the DIC technique has finally enabled a means to quantify local displacements to particulate-scale intensity. The data have been used to evaluate the local displacement mechanisms leading to the triggering of the formation of persistent shear bands, the timing of shear band formation with regard to the achievement of peak stress, and the character of displacements within fully formed shear bands. Insights are offered regarding the relation between strain localization and global stress-strain behavior, and the ensuing interpretations of shear banding as a hardening or softening phenomenon. Comparison of behavior between plane strain and triaxial tests offer additional perspective on the influences of three-dimensional stresses and boundary conditions on shear banding. The results further shed light on the micro-deformation mechanisms (i.e. buckling columns) responsible for the observed local strain non-uniformities that characterize “steady-state” shear band evolution.     

Isolated crack in three-dimensional piezoelectric solid. Part II: Stress intensity factors for circular crack

This is part II of the work concerned with finding the stress intensity factors for a circular crack in a solid with piezoelectric behavior. The method of solution involves reducing the problem to a system of hypersingular integral equations by application of the unit concentrated displacement discontinuity and the unit concentrated electric potential discontinuity derived in part I [1]. The near crack border elastic displacement, electric potential, stress and electric displacement are obtained. Stress and electric displacement intensity factors can be expressed in terms of the displacement and the potential discontinuity on the crack surface. Analogy is established between the boundary integral equations for arbitrary shaped cracks in a piezoelectric and elastic medium such that once the stress intensity factors in the piezoelectric medium can be determined directly from that of the elastic medium. Results for the penny-shaped crack are obtained as an example.     

A numerical analysis of cracks emanating from an elliptical hole in a 2-D elasticity plate

This paper is concerned with the stress intensity factors (SIFs) of cracks emanating from an elliptical hole in an infinite or a finite plate under biaxial loads by using a boundary element method, which consists of the non-singular displacement discontinuity element presented by Crouch and Starfield and the crack-tip displacement discontinuity elements due to the author. In the boundary element implementation the left or the right crack-tip element is placed locally at the corresponding left or right crack tip on top of the constant displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and the other boundaries. A few numerical examples are included to show that the present approach is very efficient and accurate for the calculating the SIFs of crack problems in an infinite or a finite plate. The present numerical results of cracks emanating from an elliptical hole under biaxial loads can reveal the effect of the elliptical aspect ratio and the transverse load on the SIFs.